Dear Shri Shaktikant Dasji,
I urge you to find a few minutes from your busy schedule to “ make living easy “ for 12 million blind citizen of our country
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
Mumbai
(m ) 98,67,55,0,08
______________________________
From: Hemen Parekh [mailto:hcp@recruitguru.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2020 12:25 PM
Subject: RE: ATTN : SHRI Thaawarchand Gehlotji
22 Jan 2020
Can MANI ( mobile app launched by RBI ) , enable India's 12 million blind persons ( out of World total of 39 million ) , identify currency notes , where these notes , held 6 inches away from a smart phone ( loaded with MANI ) , speak aloud their correct denominations ?
Going by those big advts in all national newspapers for past 3 days, it would appear so
But before you jump to any conclusion ( obviously based on Advt text ) , I urge you to read this blog ( being sent to Cabinet Ministers / RBI etc ) - may be even try to download MANI ( from Google Store ) and compare your own experience with mine
It is not enough to point out that MANI mocks the blind
I have also offered an elegant solution !
Dear Shri ShaktiKant Das, [ RBI Governor ],
I urge you to reach out to all the Institutions connected with blind people , forward my blog to all of them and request their heads to send to you their feedback
Only then, you can come up with MANI V 2.0
Is it me or the MANI ?
After reading this blog, please decide whether it is me who is dumb or is it MANI
MANI is an App launched a couple of days back by RBI [ rbimani@rbi.org.in ],
and stands for “ Mobile Assisted Note Identifier “
I was overjoyed, having suggested such an App in my following blog ( emailed to RBI ) :
Currency Notes for Visually impaired ? [ 10 June 2018 ],
- where I wrote :
SECURITY THREAD :
The metallic SECURITY THREAD in the Currency Notes can be made to store the
unique SERIAL NUMBER of each currency note , and a simple Smart Phone can read
that number and transmit that data to any government agency ( IT / ED / CVC etc )
This will be coupled with a Mobile App which will SPEAK ALOUD the denomination of
a note held near the currency note, using NFC / BLUE TOOTH
[ Exact working of the technology involved, is explained in detail in my blog ]
==============================
This morning, I tried to download MANI on my smart phone
With my eyes open, I had to :
Ø Locate the icon for Google play Store
Ø In search bar, type “ MANI RBI “
Ø See the image of MANI
Ø Click on that image
Ø Next see button “ Install “ and click on it
Ø Read ( or listen ) a long “ Installation Instructions “ and see following options – and choose one :
# Manual ( comprising “Instructions / Scan Currency / History / Settings / Help )
# Select language ( English / Hindi ) – using “ Voice Command “, if option chosen
# Select Impairment ( Visually Impaired / Visually and Hearing Impaired / None of
the above ), using “ Voice Command “ if option chosen
Ø Next , I search the “ Settings “ icon on my phone, search the “ Talk Back “ option and enable it by double clicking “ On “ ( not sure if all smartphones have “Talk Back “feature inbuilt )
Ø Only now , I can hear MANI speak aloud the denomination of the currency note , if properly held 6 / 7 inches away from the screen of the mobile phone
After going through this entire process ( with a few false steps and going back and forth ), I managed to get MANI to read the denomination values ( - notwithstanding a few errors )
But I have two , reasonably good EYES , which a blind person lacks
How does RBI expect a blind person to NAVIGATE this lengthy installation process ?
I wonder if RBI got some actually blind persons to do BETA TESTING of the app , before launch ! No mention of any such TESTS / TRIALS on Google Store !
Now , let us assume that a “ Seeing “ friend helps out by downloading / installing MANI on a blind person’s smartphone
But how will that blind person locate the icon for MANI on his phone’s screen ? He cannot “ feel “ that icon , since phone does not carry Braille !
MY SUGGESTION for the DESIRED PROCESS :
Ø Blind person pulls out a currency note from his pocket and lays it flat on the screen of his smartphone
Ø Phone speaks aloud : “ This is a Rs One Hundred note / Yeh note sau rupiya ka hai “
That is not all !
If that note is a FAKE note, phone will speak aloud :“ This is a fake note / Jutthha note hai “
No searching for MANI on Google Store . No need for installation / activation . No need for any help from a friend
Dear Shri Thaawarchand Gehlotji ,
[ Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment ]
[ officesjem@gmail.com/ tc.gehlot@sansad.nic.in ],
Although not a rocket science, implementation of my suggestion may require requesting :
Ø Sundar Pichai ( Google ) to modify Android Operating System
Ø Tim Cook ( Apple ) to modify IoS
Ø Pranav Mistry ( Samsung STAR Lab )for similar modification to Samsung OS
Ø Following Indian StartUps for development of necessary software :
# Beerud Sheth [ GupShup / +1-855-982-2997 / beerud@gupshup.io ]
# Ankit Ratan [ Signzy / ankit@signzy.com / arpit@signzy.com ]
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
==============================
Related Readings :
RBI : how about an audible note ?
Technology >
https://www.
Innovator >
https://homes.cs.washington.
A Beerud named BHIM ?
Copy to :
Shri. Nachiketa Rout , Director
National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities
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